Skip to main content

Summary

What it measures:

The Hoehn and Yahr Scale, a widely recognized clinical tool that describes broad categories of motor dysfunction in Parkinson disease (PD), is typically administered by neurologists or movement disorder specialists. While physical therapists and other allied health professionals might use the scale to inform their treatment planning and communicate with a multidisciplinary team, they usually rely on the diagnosis and staging provided by the physician.

Target Population:

People with Parkinson disease (PD)

Clinical Insights 

This categorical scale primarily focuses on motor symptoms, including postural instability and activity limitation, while leaving nonmotor symptoms of PD unassessed. For this reason, the scale is used to provide demographical information and can help to define inclusion and exclusion criteria in research, but has largely been replaced by the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale as an outcome measure of treatment efficiency.1


You Might Also Like...

Clinical Summary

Parkinson Disease (PD)

Jun 25, 2024

People with PD need to develop long-term exercise habits—and be committed to participating in their intervention programs—to sustain the benefits of the

CPG

Telerehabilitation in Physical Therapist Practice: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American Physical Therapy Association (CPG+)

Mar 21, 2024

The guideline provides 7 recommendations that address the impact of, preparation for, and implementation of telerehabilitation in physical therapist practice.

CPG

APTA: Physical Therapist Management of Parkinson Disease Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG+)

Apr 1, 2022

Related Resources Parkinson Disease CPG Toolkit Pocket Guide  Podcast: Parkinson CPG Knowledge Translation Translations: Chinese, Greek CPG+ Appraisal